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He had the kind of presence I’d never seen in another man He was comfortable in his own skin He was confident in his decisions That voice Those eyes He had me upside down

I skirted off the Metro and scampered up the stairs quickly and onto the sidewalk I liked being above ground and within sight of home

Where did Vaughn get that confidence? How did he stroll through life,his oake?

I pulledand tapped his number I was cole

I wanted to hear his voice I wanted to thank hi in the quiet with

I took the stairs to the third floor while I waited for hione to voicemail I felt the frown crinkle on e

“You’ve reached Vaughn Leave a e”

I hung up I couldn’t think of putting anything together that didn’t sound lame He also didn’t seem like the kind of man who bothered with voicemail

I turned the key in the lock and droppedon the floor

“You’re ho a pot of canned spaghetti sauce with a wooden spoon

“You’re home” I looked around for Preston I didn’t know if I could hide the aardness I now felt, knowing his boss was involved in an unplanned pregnancy with my client I couldn’t discuss it with him or Greer

“Can you believe a night before nine o’clock? I’ dinner Want some?”

I nodded “Yes, please I’ry”

I reached for a plate as she heaped it with noodles and sauce

“There’s shredded cheese in the fridge”